Beauty and the Beast Director Bill Condon Recalls the First Time He Saw Emma Watson as Belle: ''It Was Unbelievable''

We were totally awestruck upon seeing Emma Watson as Belle in the first photos for Beauty and the Beast, but can you imagine watching her transform into the Disney princess in real life?

Well, E! News caught up with the film's director Bill Condon, who couldn't help but gush as he recalled the moment he laid eyes on her in costume.

"The first time I saw her on the set, it was incredible," he told us. "She was in that blue dress—I'd seen her in tests and things like that—but she opened the door of that village and came out and sang 'Little Town' and it was just unbelievable…The idea that something you've known so well is now a reality."

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The film premiered last Friday at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood where the audience was able to watch one of their favorite animated films come to life with Watson and her co-stars Luke Evans, JoshGad, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Audra McDonald and Dan Stevens.

Of course, now that the film has been released, we can't help but ask: Where does Condon believe Belle and the Beast are today?

"Well, I think [Belle] has probably been elected mayor of the town, right?" Condon assumed. "And [the Beast] helps her out as much as he can, but maybe he's home taking care of the kids or something like that? I think it's a really happy household."